Disclaimer: I don't own Prince of Tennis in anyway or form.
A/N: Finally! I thought I was never gonna be able to post this chapter this weekend! I was so busy the past few days and I still have a busy schedule ahead of me... T-T
No pairings here!
Title: Gebrochen Lächeln can be translated to Broken Smiles in German.
Lil_Dog: Dude, you really need to read more carefully. His sister went through it twice. The first time was when she was unconscious but she was conscious on the second time. Yups. This is the third part of Buch der Erinnerungen. Brutal my face, dude! Brutal doesn't even start it! Anyways, thanks for the review dude. Peace~!
Warning: Short Chapter and Possible OOCness of characters.
Rating might go up in later chapters.
Chapter 9: Buch der Erinnerungen: Mich [Book of Memories: Myself]
It has been a week after she had her talk with Akaya when she was able to have her private talk with Fuji.
"So you finally want to know about my monthly check-ups…"
It was a statement, not a question that Fuji said. He looked out the fence to nowhere.
"Yeah. Do you want to tell me some other time?" Himiko asked, looking at the sky with her back against the wire fence.
"This talk has been a few weeks late. I thought Ryoma-kun already told you." Fuji replied, still not looking at Himiko.
"Ryoma knows?" Himiko asked, glancing at the fair-haired teen.
"He's the only one other than my family who completely knows the truth. For some reason, it started with him…" Fuji let out a soft sigh.
"We have all the time, Syusuke-san. Take your time…" Himiko told him in a reassuring way.
"Saa… Then let me start from our middle school graduation." Fuji replied.
Himiko nodded as she looked up at the sky to avoid her attention from wavering.
"Ryoma-kun excused me while I was talking with a few friends of mine. When we were away, he begged me that whatever I did, I should not go home alone." Fuji started.
Himiko gave a small nod before Fuji continued.
"After the graduation, I ate with them in Taka-san's family restaurant. Everyone left either when their parents picked them up or with someone else. I, on the other hand, went home alone after everyone else since onee-san was busy."
Fuji cleared his throat slightly.
"When I was almost home, I was suddenly knocked out. I didn't know what happened but when I woke up; I was in some dark room of some sort. I was stuck with a few tattered clothes and was rarely fed with enough food for the days I spent there."
Fuji fingered his shirt slightly.
"One night, a man came up my window and helped me escape. I don't recall much of what happened after that but my captor's henchmen had surrounded us. The man who helped me took care of them while I was unconscious, or so says he…"
Fuji looked at Himiko who was paying close attention to every word that he said.
"He took me to the hospital but the last thing I remembered before I lost consciousness again was Ryoma-kun's voice saying what a baka I was… The last thought I had was that he was right. He did tell me to not go home alone."
Himiko thoughtfully nodded as she held back tears.
"Ever since then, I trusted Ryoma-kun's gut feelings most of the time because he rarely shows his worry for others…" Fuji ended.
Syusuke-san… Ryoma…
She gave Fuji a hug but she was the one who cried.
"That was why he didn't want us to perform, right?" Himiko asked with her voice thick with tears.
All she got was silence.
"Please tell me, Syusuke-san…" Himiko begged.
She looked at Fuji with tear-filled eyes. Her heart was aching so much from what she heard. She had finally connected Ryoma's and Fuji's experiences.
"Yes, you're right." Fuji replied.
Himiko let him go then slumped to the floor, not minding if she looked like a complete mess then. She didn't care anymore. Her heart ached so much for her cousins and friend. She still has to talk to Tezuka too but it was only about details.
Why them, Kami-sama? Why did it have to be them?
Himiko cried on and on. It felt like she was being torn apart.
Why couldn't it have been me instead, Kami-sama? Why punish them?
Fuji patted her back comfortingly as she cried herself to exhaustion. She was on the verge of sleeping when she was able to mutter a few words to Fuji.
"I'll kill him for you, Syusuke-san… I promise…"
A/N: That's all for now. I hope you guys liked this chapter. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.
Important note: This was really a short chapter. For more details, please refer to the Prologue~! I didn't want to retype the events of the prologue... .
The next chapter would be a short one as well. It might be even shorter than this one!
Anyways, please Comment or Review!
+ Schatten K. +